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KAP 7
Kora, who understood her mother's feelings better than anyone, tried her best not to show it, but the mere thought of figure skating still felt like a dagger piercing her heart.
Since quitting the sport, Kora hadn't watched a single video or news clip related to figure skating. Seeing the skaters who had been her rivals during her junior years continuing to thrive made her feel a level of sadness and envy that was almost maddening.
There is nothing more agonizing in the world than watching someone else achieve your dream in your stead.
Only then, comforted by Kora, did her mother manage a bittersweet smile.
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I know. Anyway, make sure you eat well. Oh, right. Should I send some side dishes? If your roommate doesn't like them, I'll send things that don't smell. Yes, I should send some dried persimmons. I've noticed white kids like those.
“...I told you I’m fine. Just send those then.”
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Alright. I'll pick out only the tastiest ones. And make sure you keep taking the red ginseng sticks and noni powder I sent last time. I'll send more once you've finished them. Okay?
“The food at the cafeteria here is actually great.”
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Is that really the same as my cooking?
“Anyway, don't worry about me and just take care of your own health, Mom.”
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Mm-hmm. Anyway, I love you. My daughter, Su-hyun.
“I love you too! Mom, I have to go study now.”
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Alright. I'll call you again.
As the call ended, Kora sighed and pulled off her hoodie. She didn't know why she felt so restless today.
Her mother was kind.
Kora loved her mother dearly, but at the same time, she never wanted to live a life like hers.
A target to be exploited and used. Growing up watching that, Kora had realized early on.
That for a woman of color at the bottom of the food chain, 'being nice' was a luxury.
That it was a mask to be used only when one's claws were hidden.
After finishing the call, Kora stepped back out into the shop's hall.
There, she saw Mr. Carlson holding Tristan's watch with a grave expression on his face.
When their eyes met, he asked, "Kora, what is all this?"
"It's what I mentioned before. Captain Rufus left it as collateral for a tab."
"Good heavens... This looks like a genuine Patek Philippe. If we happen to lose this, they could hold us liable for damages. Kora, in the future, even if you have no choice but to put a tab on the books, you must never accept items like this."
“...I'm sorry. But he told me himself. He said to sell it if necessary."
"That won't do. It's far too expensive; it wouldn't be easy to dispose of it carelessly. Go and return this immediately."
"Sigh... Alright. I'm sorry, I really didn't know."
"It's fine, so don't worry too much."
As he watched Kora groan, a strange smile played on Mr. Carlson's lips.
"Well, perhaps Captain Rufus is waiting for you to come find him."
“...Why would he?”
"When a man entrusts his watch to a woman... Eh, never mind. Forget it."
Mr. Carlson crossed his arms and let out a hearty laugh. Watching him, Kora let out a deep sigh in her heart.
'It's not like that. Mr. Carlson doesn't know this, but I poured ginger ale on him.'
After her part-time job ended, Kora took the watch and headed toward the campus ice rink.
The place was a hockey-exclusive rink called 'Rockwood Arena.'
According to what she had heard during the freshman orientation, this was the first full-sized hockey rink ever built in the United States, dating back 130 years.
Apparently, the son of the founder of Chestworth University—meaning Tristan's great-great-grandfather—was one of the pioneers of American hockey.
In any case, it had been remodeled with state-of-the-art facilities, so little of its original appearance remained, but the building itself symbolized Chestworth's long history of hockey.
According to Mr. Carlson, the hockey team usually had their regular training around this time in the afternoon.
Thus, she intended to meet Tristan before practice, demand payment for the tab, and hand over this cumbersome watch immediately.
When she had searched for the watch online a moment ago, the price was over 50,000 dollars.
Realizing this, Kora's hands trembled. 50,000 dollars was a sum of money Kora had never even touched in her entire life.
'If I were to lose something this expensive... I don't even want to imagine it.'
It was as she was crossing the parking lot toward the arena entrance. From a distance, a glossy black Porsche began to charge toward her with a roar.
The Porsche swept past her so quickly that her hair fluttered, leaving skid marks on the ground as it made a U-turn.
'Who races F1 in a school parking lot?'
Just as she clicked her tongue and continued walking, the engine of the parked Porsche cut off, and a man emerged from the driver's seat.
More accurately, it would be more precise to say he barely managed to extract his large frame from the cramped interior of the low-slung sports car.
The man slung a large gym bag over his shoulder and strode toward the rink with wide steps.
Glossy black hair and a sturdy build. It was Tristan.
“Hey!”
Kora called out to him urgently, but Tristan didn't even look back, taking the stairs two at a time with his long legs.
'...He must have heard my voice, right?'
Baffled, Kora quickly chased after him. However, perhaps due to the difference in leg length, Tristan walked so fast it was as if he were on a moving walkway. She followed him straight into the building, but he had already vanished.
Where did he go?
'Practice starts soon, so he's probably changing clothes in the locker room right now.'
But she couldn't just barge into a locker room teeming with male students.
'What should I do? Should I wait until practice is over?'
As Kora stood there fidgeting, unable to decide, a sharp chill hit her face.
She noticed that the door leading to the ice rink was wide open.
Peeking through the gap, she saw a few spectators sitting in the stands. It seemed to be an open practice where outsiders were allowed to watch.
Seeing this, Kora tightened her jacket and stepped inside as if possessed.
“...Wow.”
Looking around the interior, Kora couldn't help but marvel at the rink, which featured facilities modern enough to host a professional league game.
A Jumbotron—a massive four-sided LED screen—hung from the ceiling, and the stands held thousands of seats. On top of that, there were VIP seats enclosed in glass.
'Just how much money did they pour into a mere college stadium...'
Above all, what captured Kora's attention most was the exceptionally smooth silver ice.
The ice, which looked as though it had just been resurfaced without a single scratch, seemed as if one would glide effortlessly just by touching it with a skate blade.
'Wow... it would feel amazing to skate in a place like this.'
As if entranced, Kora walked down the stairs, took a seat in the front row of the stands, and pulled a thick sweater from her bag to wrap around herself.
'Tristan will appear on the ice soon. That'll be my chance.'
Just as she carefully placed her bag on her lap, a side iron gate swung open with a loud crash.
“Let’s go, boys!”
The coach's booming shout filled the arena, accompanied by the noise of sticks drumming against the rink walls.
Following that, hockey players equipped with heavy shoulder pads and gear under blue-black jerseys poured onto the ice.
Swoosh, swoosh.
The sound of skates carving through the ice intersected from all directions, and the players began to sprint in circles along the perimeter of the rink to warm up.
'Where is he?'
As she looked around for Tristan, a player wearing a 'C' patch on the chest of his uniform—signifying the captain—appeared like a protagonist from the gate. Number 19. He was the man she had been searching for so desperately.
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